“File Folder Activities” is a clever method for organizing games and learning materials so that kids can easily access them.

This site offers free, printable file folder games and activities (created by a Special Education teacher) that help young children and children with disabilities to practice basic skills such as:

matching

sorting

identification of shapes, colors, and numbers

counting

beginning math and phonics

The activities at this site are for younger children, but older children may enjoy preparing them for their siblings. (While there are a variety of free File Folder activities at this commercial site, there are many more available for sale.)

These interactive games for kids help them understand the importance of energy conservation in their home.

When you get to the site, you will be greeted by two animated energy inspectors. They will help you explore all of the “rooms” in a virtual house to find energy-wasters through playing five games. Your objective is to defeat the energy hogs in all of them to earn your official “Energy Hog Buster” certification! You can navigate by the “Navigation” control in the upper right corner or by clicking “Floorplan” or “Training Games” just below the game window. Watch the badge in the bottom left corner of your screen (it looks like a stack of numbered squares unless you click on it) to keep track of your progress. The games include:

Fridge Frenzy – Upgrade to Energy Star refrigerators by finding the old fridges with matching contents. But hurry! Leaving refrigerator doors open too long wastes energy.

Bulb Hunter – Make your way through a dark maze, converting all of the bulbs to energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs before time runs out.

Whack a Hog – Whack 20 energy hogs in the shower before they waste all the hot water. (Aim carefully; these hogs can be mighty elusive!)

Wacky Windows – Caulk all the windows before the energy hog gets in! Hint: Aim for the window corners, and remember to reload your caulk gun frequently. It’s helpful to have the speakers on for this game, although not necessary.

Attic Attack – Get up there and roll out the insulation, whacking the energy hogs before they can get you! This is another beat-the-clock game, and it’s the final game of the five needed for your certificate.

NOTE: The bonus game link and the “Hog and Seek” link did not work for us during our review of the site.

And there’s more:

Download the .pdf Scavenger Hunt – with an adult, answer ten of the twelve questions found here, and see what can be done to make your own home more energy efficient.

Check out the .pdf Energy Hog Busting Handbook for pointers to share with your parents!

Click “Who is Hog” to get the low-down on several energy hogs you wouldn’t want to meet in your home.

This Google ad-supported website provides interactive exercises that teach young children Spanish vocabulary from basic to intermediate level. As you do the activities you can listen to the correct pronunciation of the words by a native Spanish speaker.

When you get to the site you’ll see a preview menu by grade level from 1-4. Click on any one and a new page opens with a broader menu of choices that includes activities for learning:

Counting – Learn to say numbers from 1-100 along with some basic math terminology.

Grammar – Learn to say some verbs in present and past tense.

To complement and reinforce the vocabulary you will also find a selection of word-find puzzles, crosswords, and matching activities.

This is not a comprehensive language course. It’s a simple way to introduce learning the Spanish language, or to practice skills that you’ve already acquired. Parents that don’t speak Spanish can learn right alongside their children.

The site offers downloads to tests, lesson plans, and learning sheets for classroom teachers that can be tweaked for use at home.

NOTE: “Spanish for Kids” is part of a larger website. We did NOT review other parts of the site. The kids’ section requires adult assistance to navigate. The site has random ads and Google advertisements that if clicked on, will lead to outside websites so PARENTS, AS ALWAYS, SHOULD PREVIEW THE SITE AND SUPERVISE USE.

Internet Polyglot offers a variety of free interactive lessons and games to help you practice over 35 languages by memorizing vocabulary words and their meanings along with phrases and simple sentences.

Due to the large amount of content on this site, it may require a minute or two to fully load. Then, in the center of the page, read the descriptions for the tools that are available on the site and the instructions on how to use them. It will make overall navigation much easier.

Select the language you want to learn from the language menu on the left side of the page. A new page opens that displays all of the vocabulary lessons (includes audio) that cover topics such as animals, weather, transportation, food, money, shopping, education, entertainment, numbers, colors, clothing, time, and much more. You can also access:

Tutorial Slide Show – Watch pictures of objects and hear the word that describes them pronounced by a narrator. This is sort of like virtual flash cards.

Guessing Game – A word is displayed and you select the correct definition.

Typing Game – A word is displayed and you type in the correct translation.

Matching Game – Drag-and-drop the translations that match displayed words.

You can play-and-learn all of these games for free on this ad-supported website.

Note: There were not a lot of ads on our visits to the site. However, the ads are randomly generated, so, parents AS ALWAYS should preview the site and supervise use of it.

You must register (free) to create your own lessons, save your results, and customize the activities as desired.

As the website explains, Internet Polyglot assumes that users already have some experience and knowledge of a foreign language prior to using the activities at the site. It is intended as a supplement to a foreign language program – not as the sole method for learning a language.

Join Leo and learn about the principles of art through lessons, coloring pages, interactive activities and games. Produced by Silva Animation Studio, Inc., this website was founded for “the sole purpose of creating a free, art based, website devoted to develop a child’s artistic instinct.”

There is a large variety of instruction available at this website. Select from the following in the upper menu: